Musk Reads: Tesla hints at new energy offerings

Tesla announces a stock split and Lucid Air reaches over 500 miles. Which electric boat is best? It’s Musk Reads: Tesla Edition #194.

A version of this article appeared in the “Musk Reads” newsletter. Sign up for free here.

Musk quote of the week

“One day soon, I will wear this outfit”

• Read more about Musk’s plans to wear what seems to be a plaid outfit.

Tesla

Tesla has big plans for the future of energy. A survey given to German customers, and seen by PV Magazine, asks whether respondents are interested in a series of offerings like solar panels, home energy, and clean electricity. Tesla doesn’t currently sell electricity to consumers, but it emerged in May that the company had applied for the relevant licenses in the United Kingdom. The survey also suggests Tesla is considering offering an “energy package” that includes electricity, solar panels, battery storage, and an electric car charger. Musk claimed last month that Tesla’s energy business could end up the same size as its electric car business. Moves like these could help take this sector of the business to the next level.

What does Tesla’s master plan mean for the future of the company, and what’s happened with it so far? In an episode of The Abstract podcast, we take a closer look at the 2016 document and how it’s progressing. Listen now.

What’s next for Tesla: Tesla is expected to host its planned Battery Day soon. Comments from Musk suggested the event could take place on September 15 alongside the shareholder meeting. Visitors should receive a tour of the cell production system. The event is expected to be one of the most important in the firm’s history. Read more.

In other Musk news…

• Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced a “Make Billionaires Pay” bill that would introduce a 60 percent tax on wealth gains made by billionaires between March 18, 2020, and January 1, 2021. The bill would also enable Medicare to pay for all Americans’ out-of-pocket healthcare expenses for one year. Musk would pay a single $27.5 billion tax under the act, as his wealth tripled to $70.5 billion during that period. Fast Company argued that, because the act measures gains after the market crash, it gives a distorted view of gains made during the pandemic, which would mean representatives may push for changes. The policy sparked a Twitter dispute between Sanders and Musk.

• Tesla has announced a five-to-one stock split. Each stockholder of record before August 21 will receive four additional shares.

• Mark Goldberg shared his experience working on Tesla’s initial public offering.

• The Lucid Air, an upcoming electric vehicle, is expected to reach over 500 miles of EPA range according to an independent test.

Musk Reads mailroom

We received a number of fascinating responses to last week’s electric boat question. Here are some of the highlights.

Tom B. writes: Love your weekly articles. There is indeed an electric recreational watercraft made by Correct Craft, a super air Nautique. You can pass this along to your readers. The features are pretty impressive, only 2–3 hours of runtime, no solar recharge and the price tag is not for the faint of heart. ~$250,000.

You can find out more about the $292,711 boat here.

Peter Karos writes: Someone wrote in that there were no electric watercraft. www.purewatercraft.com high-profile silicon valley names involved. And www.evoy.no. Two different approaches…..

Read more about Evoy and Pure Watercraft.

David Straton writes: When I go down hill in my Tesla M3, electricity is seamlessly generated and sent to my batteries. A central problem in a sailing boat is how to charge the batteries. This would be even more critical if diesel engines were replaced with electric engines. If the propellor’s pitch could be controlled, it should be possible for the props to generate electricity when the boat is under sail, and power the boat when there is no wind. I don’t understand the critical elements, but whatever is in the Tesla M3 could be invaluable to the boating electrification project.

Regenerative braking for boats is an interesting idea, and indeed the Lagoon 440 employed a similar idea to recharge the brakes when the boats were using the sail.

Don’t forget to check out Zin Boats, which has debuted the Z2R speedboat that can move over 100 miles at cruising speeds.

Got any comments or queries? Don’t forget to send them over to muskreads@inverse.com.

Photo of the week

Reader Gary Berger took this photo on May 18 of his 2020 Model 3 Sleeper. Thanks for your submission, Gary!

Got a photo or video you’d like to see featured? Send it over to muskreads@inverse.com!

The ultra-fine print

This has been Musk Reads: Tesla Edition #194, the weekly rundown of essential reading about futurist and entrepreneur Elon Musk. I’m Mike Brown, an innovation journalist for Inverse.

• Email me directly at mike.brown@inverse.com and follow me on Twitter @mikearildbrown.

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• Got any comments or queries? Don’t forget to send them over to muskreads@inverse.com.

What did you think of today’s stories? Hit reply to this email to let us know. Thanks for reading!

A version of this article appeared in the “Musk Reads” newsletter. Sign up for free here.